CM Khattak dissatisfied with referral system used in public-sector hospitals

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak has expressed dissatisfaction over the referral system being used in the public-sector hospitals and directed the officials concerned to remove all loopholes in the existing system.

The CM said this while presiding over a meeting in connection with the upgradation of different healthcare centres, improved healthcare facilities, optimum utilisation of healthcare units and removal of grievances of poor patients at local healthcare centres. The meeting was held at the Chief Minister Secretariat and was also attended by the KP Health Secretary Abid Majeed.

CM Khattak said that the existing referral system being used in public hospitals was blind, obsolete and seemed to be shifting the burden of duty to other hospitals, despite the fact that the upgraded system of healthcare had the capacity to locally provide efficient healthcare to poor patients. The system needed to be improved and its weaknesses removed to make it more efficient, he added.

Meanwhile, the chief minister directed the officials concerned to devise a combined institutional monitoring mechanism for both the education and health sectors. He also directed hospital administrations to ensure that doctors who were absent from duty should be punished by slashing their salaries.

The chief minister also agreed on plans to upgrade basic health units (BHU) to rural health centres (RHC) in Jalozai, saying that the RHC should be constructed on the available space for which PC-1 was ready and feasibility would be prepared soon.

He also issued directives for establishing Aza Khel Bala hospital on the allotted land. The chief minister assured that the government would provide resources for the construction of hospitals and health centres in different districts of the province.

However, he stressed that the district government should put their share of health sector resources in the process of upgrading the healthcare system. The CM said that this could be done easily since the district of Nowshera was already acting as a model by providing resources in the ongoing efforts to upgrade the provincial health sector.